Improvement in handcuffs and shackles



1. 1. To-wER.

Hand-Cuffs and Shackles.

N0. 151,452. Patented May 26,1874.

na. Fab l WITNSSES "WENTOR Mer n .m

lock.

Nrrnn ATENT i FFOE.

JOHN J`. TOWER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

Speciticatirn forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,452, dated May 2G,1874; application filed August 18, 1871. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN J. TOWER, of Brooklyn, in the county ot' Kingsand State ot' New York, have invented certain Improvements in Handcuffsand Shaekles, of which the following is a speciieation:

In the accompanyiny drawings, Figure l is a side view of my improvedhandcui' and shackle. Fig. 2 is a section of the lock, showing the armsin place. Fig. 3 is a section of the lock eut transversely to the smallarm. Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section of the smaller arm.

My invention consists, trst, in making the small arm in such forni thata transverse section ofthe same shall be an oval with its smaller curveand most prominent part on the side where the teeth or ratchets aresituated, for the double purpose of allowing deeper notches withoutweakening too much the arm, and also to prevent the insertion of awatchspring or other instrument for opening the Secondly, it consists incombining with the above a peculiar construction of lock for handcuffsand shackles.

A n important object in making handcuffs and shackles is to have thesame light and neat, and yet not liable to be broken. Also, it isimportant to make the wire of the small arm otl such diameter that awatchspring will not enter the lock in order to push back the bolt.

In the construction of my improved handcui'fs and shackles 'the generalform of the same may be that which is now most approved, as seen in Fig.l of the accompanying drawings. The wire otl the smaller arm A is madeprotuberant on the side where the teeth of the lock are to be cut, asshown in Fig. 4, which is a transverse section of the arm, and somewhatenlarged in order better to show the form. By this means the teeth ornotches B do not weaken the arms so much as usual, and yet give room fordeeper notches. At the same time the sharper curve at this side preventsthe insertion of a watch-spring or other instrument for pushing back thebolt of the lock.

My lock is also very peculiar in the arm of the shackle or handcuft. Arecess or chamber ismade in the shorter and larger arm D long enough toreceive a strong bolt, E, and coiled spring, G, which presses againstthe end ot' the bolt E to push it forward. The bolt E has a simplenotch, c, for the key to work in.

Instead of the ova-l arm above described, the notches may be made upon acylindrical arm, but I prefer the oval. In both cases the notches aremade on a curved surface of the arm instead of a iat surface, as in thecase ot' a quadrangular arm; and also in both of my modifications Iavoid having a side lip to the notches, which side lips act as a bridgeto guide the pickloek past the notches. Therefore my cylindrical arm isdifferent from the common handcutt'.

l do not broadly claim a coiled spring in the lock of a handcui'i', butlimit myself to above-described arrangement of such spring with thebolt.

I'Iaving described my invention, I claiml. A handcut't', in which themale arni has rounded edges instead ot` being quadrangular, and thenotches made upon a circinnferentially-curvcd surface, in the manner andfor the purposes set fort-h.

2. The arrangement ofthe bolt E, and coiled spring G, in combinationwith the cylindrical or rounded arm D, substantially as set forth.

JOHN J. TOWER.

fitnessesr E. P. BREED, L. B. BEARING.

